Attempt on Rulten

Paul Linford

An account of the ascent by Paul and Graham Salmon, members
of the Lofoten group, as part of the 1992 Norwegian Meet.

This short article describes our unsuccessful attempt on
Rulten. I think we were very fortunate to find as good a site as we did at
Reknes. For a while it looked as if we were going to have a very uncomfortable
time there. Even so, the large amount of rain we had during our four days
there meant that even our heather terrace was becoming very soaked and staying
longer was going to get more and more unpleasant, It goes without saying,
though, that the running fresh water supply/fridge just outside the tent door
was a real bonus. And yes, you can burn the birch (and the heather on the
floor of your cook tent eh, Graham, Pete!), which helps to keep the mosquitoes
off; but whether the return warrants the considerable effort of collection is
dubious.

We were unfortunate in that on our boat trip to Reknes and
during all the time we spent there we never actually saw the summit of Rulten.
In fact, we rarely saw any of the top third, it being continually covered in
cloud. This denied us the opportunity to really view the mountain and get a
feel for its geography before setting off up it. The 1:50000 scale map of the
area is almost useless for navigating on this massive and complex mountain.

If we had been able to see the mountain it is likely that at
least some of us would have attempted the East Peak by the route described in
Spilsbury’s guide, We were treated to an excellent view of this route on our
return trip to Svolvaer and it looks quite straightforward, As it was, the
weather ensured we managed only one climbing day out of our four there. For
reasons which I can only attribute to the weather, or possibly not going to the
Alps, we all decided on the West Peak route which goes up via the Snoskardet
glacier. In case anyone reading this report in the future should wish to go, I
will describe in some detail our short exploration of this route, which
involved everyone to some degree. It is clear, though, that if the aim is an
ascent of Rulten, then the East Peak via the east ridge would give a much
better chance of success. However, if one could complete the West Peak route
successfully, then a traverse of the mountain, descending by the east ridge,
would be a real possibility and quite a prize. I understand there are few
recorded successful traverses of Rulten.

The ascent from the campsite to the glacier is quite
straightforward, though somewhat of a slog with the usual dense vegetation to
push through and the hidden streams to fall in. Care is essential when
negotiating the boulder field immediately before the glacier with its huge
slime covered blocks. A fall down the large holes between the blocks, which
would have serious consequences, is a real possibility for the unwary. When we
reached the glacier, it was a great relief to be able to don crampons and march
up the surprisingly good snow. It was the only time one had been able to move
easily for a reasonable distance on these Lofoten peaks. The ascent to the col
is quite steep, but without problems and very little objective danger, though
it seemed quite bizarre to be walking on a glacier whilst looking out over
birch forest to the sea! We didn’t rope the party and the few places where
there was any suspicion of crevasses were easily avoided. I suspect that the
snow is actually quite thin and there is no real crevasse danger. There were a
few fallen rocks lying around, some quite large, but we didn’t see any come
down.

From the col, Graham and I attempted to follow the route
described by Spilsbury. There was a suspicion that Spilsbury had not in fact
done the route and we think we can confirm this. The described route descends
on the west side of the col for a short way and then traverses south on grassy
ledges to the base of a gully with a snow patch. It is now apparent that this
gully is actually a considerable way from the col.

As one begins the traverse there is a very inviting grass
ramp leading up about two rope lengths to a notch in a small buttress, We
actually went up this and, although it effectively leads nowhere, the short
abseil (from a piton) to retain the traverse is to be preferred to going around
the buttress, which looked difficult.

A short distance further round from the bottom of our abseil
was a gully which we believed was the one described in Spilsbury’s route, as
the cloud prevented us from seeing a better alternative on the sweeping face in
front. We climbed the gully (three rope lengths), which was extremely loose,
and found that it had placed us firmly upon the ridge. However, we were still
amongst the complex tower system on the ridge and the climbing to go onwards
was extreme indeed. As it was now raining heavily, we decided to abandon the
attempt at this point.

Our return gave us one instance when the cloud suddenly
parted for about five minutes and, although we still could not see the top, we
could see most of the route. I would estimate that the snow patch gully, which
we should have gone up if Spilsbury’s route is to be believed, was at least five
hundred meters further round the west face over some quite treacherous ground.
It is not technically difficult in any way, but loose, slippery, and with very
little protection on an extremely steep slope. The gully itself looked
passable, with the cave pitch and jammed block mentioned in Spilsbury’s guide
in view. This long traverse is clearly necessary to avoid the difficult
climbing actually on the ridge in amongst the towers. We could not see the
‘easy snow’ from the top of the gully to the summit as described by Spilsbury,
but the way, as far as we could see, looked obvious and easy and it’s possible
that the snow is no longer there in August.

We climbed the short pitch we had abseiled down, which
proved to be dirty, but not too difficult, and hence to the col. We returned
to camp by the same route as the ascent and, although wet and frustrated, had
no difficulty. Spilsbuiy gives a round trip time of eleven hours – our
experience would suggest this is definitely a best-you-could-hope-for good weather
time.

We were very lucky, while walking up the glacier, to have
repeated sightings of a pair of white tailed sea eagles that appeared to take
flight from the walls and peak to the right of the glacier as one ascends. We
did see these eagles on other days, but our short exploration of Rulten was
worth it if only to get much closer to these magnificent birds.

Raw cod, cleaned, cut lengthwise and hung by the tail on
outdoor racks to dry turn into the nutritious stickfish with their wood-like
appearance. The cold, dry, wind conditions of the Lofoten winter are ideal for
the drying process.